It was a toss and turn night. Dawn was distant. Nightmares gripped a restless slumber. The editors had assigned me, once again in my dreams as they did in real life back in the 1960s, to the police blotter. What a way to start the day, sitting in a dreary station house sifting through reports […]

Returning from my small, east Texas hometown to Portales, every small town — Runaway Bay, Loving, Megargel, Vera, Benjamin, Dickens, Ralls, Anton — seemed to have more people in their cemeteries than towns. The tombstones dated to the early 1800s, with numerous people having died younger than I am. One could make assumptions about the […]

Information on how to transform your life, suggestions on how to achieve your dreams and ways to use essential oils will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and noon Thursday. Author and professional speaker Peter Fogel will talk about reinventing yourself and relate stories and strategies of people over 40 […]

Information on the power of dreams, cooking with figs and using fusible machine applique will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and noon Thursday. Wilny Audain is a motivational speaker and author. His book is called “Nuggets of Gold,” and he’s going to talk about the impossible dream and how […]

Sharna Johnson I still remember the day I learned dreams can come true. I must have been 7 or 8 and my dad, little brother and I drove to a surprise destination on my birthday. We arrived at the stockyard and my new horse was led out. It was the best day of my life. […]

By Kevin Wilson: CNJ columnist A few ramblings from my couch, the grocery store and my Michael J. Fox-inspired dreams. • Sunday’s Lakers-Celtics game was just fantastic to watch, but I could have done without homerism masked as NBA coverage. ABC had a halftime interview with Lakers coach Phil Jackson. That’s a fair and timely […]

By Clyde Davis: Local columnist Every movie I see has one or two lines which catch my real attention, usually entering my store of tag lines to place on the bottom of outgoing Emails. One such line, spoken by the Jack Nicholson character to his sycophantic assistant in “The Bucket List”: “Tommy, nobody CARES what […]

CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo Gabriella Tapia, 7, said her favorite thing to do at the park was to play on the swings. Gabriella Tapia, 7, said she spent her spring break outside and dressed in pink sun dresses. Favorite part of spring break: I like coming to the park with my grandma and her […]

By Helena Rodriguez: Local columnist If 2007 wasn’t exactly heaven, then 2008 should be great. Like that rhyme? How about these? With ’08 comes the great debate. Lose weight in ’08. Mate in ’08. End hate in ’08. Whatever fate awaits you in ’08, have a happy new year. May your resolutions continue long past […]

By Ryn Gargulinski: Columnist Shocking news made headlines with the death of pilot Guy “Doc” Baldwin who crashed while performing in last week’s Tucumcari air show. It was sudden, sad and unexpected. Nor did anyone expect “alligator man” Steve Irwin, who spent years mingling with deadly beasts, to have a stingray thrust a barb into […]

By Helena Rodriguez: Local columnist It’s hard to believe that 21 years ago it was me walking across the stage to receive my high school diploma from Portales High School. I was filled with ambition, dreams and a strong determination to be somebody. I had a specific plan of action and then, from there on, […]

By Helena Rodriguez: Local Columnist Many people don’t make New Year’s resolutions because they’ll break them. But my resolutions, which I’ve been slow in revealing, are based on years of hard work, prayers and recent dreams I’ve had to reaffirm them. Life is not a gamble, so I’ve made a big decision to completely stop […]

Ryn Gargulinski What do we all want, need and cannot live without? No, it’s not the $84 fuzzy shearling slippers from the latest Cabelas catalog. It’s our dear friend sleep. Studies have shown normal adults need at least eight hours of sleep per day. When we say “normal” we mean those who do not aim […]

By Curtis Shelburne Recently my younger brother Jim and I walked among the headstones dotting the small country cemetery nestled near the Edith Community a little over eight miles outside of Robert Lee, Texas. Well-kept but absolutely blending in with their surroundings, the headstones had grown up where once only mesquite trees and prickly pears […]

By Julia Keller: Chicago Tribune Female rockers blaze new trails on the route to creative freedom. It works like this: When you’re young, you dream big dreams. Wild dreams. Outrageous dreams. Then you grow up, get married, make a family. Along the way, you wad up the dream like a tie-dyed T-shirt – the kind […]